What will it be today? Acts chapter 4. Let's read from verses 8 to 13. Acts chapter 4. The name of the message is, No
other salvation. No other salvation. Acts chapter
4, verse 8 to 13. Then Peter, filled with the Holy
Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people and elders of Israel,
If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent
man, by what means he is made whole, be it known unto you and
to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ
of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead,
even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. This is
the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which has become
the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in
any other. For there is none other name
under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved. Now
when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived
that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled and
took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus." Oh, the name of Jesus. Scripture declares here, neither
is there salvation in any other. Any other. For there is none
other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be
saved. That means that we can be saved
by no other. Each of us, every one of us in
this room has a name. And salvation is not in our name,
is it? I can't save myself, let alone
anyone else. But I proclaim to you, the One,
the One who there's salvation in, the One Name, the One Name
that there's salvation in, the Lord Jesus Christ in Him alone.
No other name. There's no other name given among
men. No other name of any man, this
top side of God's earth, right, who's ever lived, from Adam all
the way till now, until when be, that you can be saved. No
other name. No other person can save you.
Do you see how it's exclusive? One name. Lord Jesus Christ. Salvation is in Christ, in Him
alone. It's nowhere else. Nowhere else. Now think for a moment how important
our names are. We put our names on all sorts
of applications, don't we? When we go to the doctors. Brother
Matt, when folks come to the ER, what's the first thing you
ask them? Their name. You ask them their name. Because
with a name, you can look up and find all kinds of information
about them. Right? So we put our name on applications. I go to the doctor. They ask,
what's your name? Before they ask my birthdate,
ask me my name. Then they ask me my birthdate
to make sure it's the right Wayne Boyd. Right? But they ask me
my name first. And they ask you your name first
too. You go to the pharmacy, pick up prescriptions. What do
they do? They ask you your name. Then they ask you your birthdate.
Our name is what identifies us. It's who we are. It identifies
who we are. Now think of the name of our
Savior. Think of the name of our Savior. Think of the one
name that salvation's in. Right? The Lord Jesus Christ. It identifies who He is. Who
He is. Think on the name Lord. The Lord. Not a Lord. Right? But the Lord. The Lord. God Almighty. God Almighty in
the flesh. The one true God. The Lord. And he hath on his vesture, and
on his thigh, a name written, King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Revelation 19.16. This is who
he is. The Lord of Lords. Jesus, the
name Jesus. He's the Lord Jesus. Jesus means
Jehovah, the Savior. God saves. Matthew 1.21, the
Scriptures declare this, "...and she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name Jesus." Jehovah saves. He shall save His people from
their sins. He shall. And in Christ, the
Lord Jesus Christ, Christos means the anointed one or Messiah. Do you see how his name identifies
who he is? Who he is. And think of this,
I was reading early this morning, I was reading one commentator
and he brought out this point here. He said, there was probably
lots of Jewish kids that were named Jesus, but they never lived
up to that name. But the Lord Jesus Christ did. He came to save his people, and
he did it. He is the Lord Jesus Christ.
His name identifies who he is, beloved. Neither is there salvation
in any other, for there is none other name under heaven given
among men, whereby we must be saved. And we must be saved,
right? If we're not saved, what happens? We'll perish in our
sins. I must be saved. I can't save myself. Oh, but
I preach to the One who can save all who come to Him. The Lord
Jesus Christ and Him alone. And Him alone. So, the very name
of our Lord and Savior identifies who He is, beloved. It identifies
who He is. And let's look at our scripture
again. Neither is there salvation in any other. For there is none
other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be
saved. Now if you go out into this world
and you ask a hundred different people, you're going to get a
hundred different answers about how salvation is obtained. And
very few people, very few people would mention that salvation
is in Christ and Him alone. They'd usually tell you it's
something you do, which when you think about what we're reading
here, if a person is relying upon their own works, then they're
trusting in their name. People in false religion like
Mormonism, they're trusting in Joseph Smith's name. But the
scripture declares neither is there. There's no other name
whereby we must be saved, right? So that means all those other
names are false Christs, false messiahs. There's no hope in
any other one but Christ in him alone. And most people, if you
went and asked, most people, you're either, you're fine, they're
either trusting in their own works or they have a really weird
view of what's going to happen to them when they die. And it's
usually something they've conjured up in their own mind. But our
text here in Acts, Acts chapter 4 verse 12, it makes it very
clear, doesn't it? Very plainly that salvation is
exclusively in Christ Jesus and Him alone. It's not found anywhere
else. It's not. Look at the very text. Neither
is there salvation in any other. So that excludes every other
human being. Everyone. For there is none other name.
Very plain English, isn't it? There's none other name. Under
heaven, given among men, we can't save ourselves, whereby we must
be saved. Oh, it's very exclusive. It's
very exclusive. Now, natural man does not receive
the things of God, right? They think the Scriptures are
foolishness. They think that salvation is foolishness. Salvation
in Christ is foolishness. Oh, but for we who believe, it's
the power of God and the salvation, isn't it? It's our only hope.
It's our foundation. Christ is our cornerstone. And
you take away Christ, we have nothing. We have nothing. But
all the very name of our Lord and Savior tells us that He's
our Lord, that He's our Savior. And He is the only way. And the
thing is, we've had revealed to us the very fact of this scripture. We who believe have had this
revealed to us. We didn't know it before. I thought
I could save myself. I thought my good would outweigh
my bad. Well, I found out there's no salvation in me, so there's
no salvation in my name. But there's salvation in one,
the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone. We cannot save ourselves. No amount of works on our part,
no matter how good they are, can gain us merit and favor with
God. Why? Because everything we do
is tainted with sin. Everything we do. We come into
this world dead in trespasses and sins. Now, notice in our
text here too, notice in our text, turn if you would over
one chapter to Acts chapter 3. And I'll give you a look here
at what brought this conversation about and why they were taken
before the leaders. Now Peter and John verse 1, Now
Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of
prayer, being the ninth hour. And a certain man lame from his
mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of
the temple, which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered
into the temple. This man had a divine appointment
with God. He is one of God's sheep. chosen
in Christ from before the foundation of the world, he has no clue
at all that he has a divine appointment. And this divine appointment will
occur at the exact time that God has ordained. This is why
our preaching is not in vain, because God uses it to accomplish
His purpose. No matter what, we just proclaim
the truth, and God does the work. He does the work. Look it. So he's going there to ask alms
of them that entered into the temple. Who seen Peter and John
about to go into the temple, asked in alms. And Peter, fastening
his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us. Now remember
our text, right? Neither is there salvation in
any other, for there is none other name under heaven given
among men whereby we must be saved. who seeing Peter and John
about to go into the temple, asked in alms. And Peter fastened
his eyes upon him with John and said, Look on us. And he gave
heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them. Then
Peter said, Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have, I
give thee, in the name, in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,
rise up and walk. And what happened, beloved? Now
remember, this is a man who's being crippled from his birth,
right? So the muscles, right? Brother Matt, the muscles, they're
probably all, they're pretty, I was reading about that, when
you sit for so long or when your muscles have no strength, nothing,
but miraculously, by the power of God, oh my, he doesn't just
get up and walk. He doesn't just get up and walk,
right? Look at this. And he took him
by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet
and ankle bones received strength. And he, leaping up, stood and
walked and entered with them into the temple, walking and
leaping and praising God." What a miracle, beloved. What a miracle. Oh, my. Is that not what God
does for us, too? Oh, we soul-sick sinners who
are lame from our birth. Oh, my. Oh, my, beloved. And then look further down in
verse 12, And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people,
Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? Or why look ye so
earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we
had made this man to walk? The God of Abraham and of Isaac
and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son,
Jesus, whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence
of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. But ye denied
the Holy One, and the just, and desired a murderer to be granted
unto you, and killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised
from the dead, whereof we are witnesses. And his name, through
faith in his name, hath made this man strong, whom you see
and know. Yea, the faith which is by him
hath given him this perfect soundness in the presence of you all. And
then he goes on to say, And now, brethren, I want that through
ignorance you did it, as did also your rulers. But those things
which God before has showed by the mouth of all the prophets,
so Christ should suffer, So hath he fulfilled. Repent ye therefore,
and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the
times of refreshments will come from the presence of the Lord.
And then go to chapter 4, and it says in verse 1, And as they
spake unto the people, the priests and the captains of the temple
and the Sadducees came upon them, being grieved. And they taught
the people and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the
dead. And they laid hands on them and put them in hold until
the next day. for it is now even in tithes." So then go down to
verse 6, "...and Ananias the high priest, and Caiaphas, and
John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the
high priest were gathered together at Jerusalem." So this is the
context of what we're looking at. A miracle is being wrought. A lame man is now walking. It's
by the name of the Lord Jesus Christ that this is being done.
The Sadducees come, they're upset, the religious folks are ticked
off. It's been a miracle. Oh, but
they're mad. They're mad because these folks,
because Peter and John are preaching Christ. Oh, they won't have any
of that. Might affect their crowds. Might
affect who they have influence over. But oh, what a great miracle's
been wrought, beloved. A lame man is walking. And we
know the blind see too, eh? Oh my. So here they are. They're bought before. They bought
before Caiaphas, a high priest. And Peter, filled with the Holy
Ghost, said unto them, ye rulers of the people and elders of Israel.
And then he goes on to say, neither is there salvation in any other,
for there is none other name under heaven given among men
whereby we must be saved. You see the context of the name?
The name. Oh, there's power in the name
of Christ. There's power in the blood of
Christ. Oh, it's the only hope for sinners. The only hope for
sinners is the Lord Jesus Christ and Him alone. So Peter is bringing
before his listeners the fact and the mistake in rejecting
the cornerstone. Look at verse 11. Look at verse
11. This is the stone which was set
at nought of you, set before them, of you builders, which
has become the head of the corner. They've rejected. They've rejected
the very one that the prophets spoke of. So Peter is bringing
forth before him the conclusion of his exposition and the fact
that there is no salvation in any other than the true cornerstone,
the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn, if you would, to Psalm
118. Psalm 118. He brings before them that this
is a fatal error, a fatal error which they have committed. as the only one a sinner can
find hope in is the one that they've rejected. The cornerstone. And again, we see in our text,
don't we? And people don't like this. We see the exclusiveness of Christ. Salvation's in Him alone. That's
what the Scriptures declare. And it goes against the grain
of man, the pride of man, And let us remember, too, that
when the Scriptures speak of the Messiah as the cornerstone,
it is a reference to salvation. It's a reference to salvation
in Him, which only God had approved or revealed. Look at Psalm 118,
verses 21 to 24. I will praise Thee, for Thou
hast heard me, and art become my salvation. Is Christ your
salvation? We've heard Him, haven't we?
We've heard Him. We've heard the voice of the
shepherd. And he's heard our cry, God be
merciful to me, a sinner. And art become my salvation.
The stone which the builders refused has become the headstone
of the corner. Oh, he's the cornerstone of the
church. He's the head of the church. And look at what it says. This is the Lord's doing. See? It's not by works of righteousness
which we have done. But it's according to his mercy
he saves us. And look at the cry of the believer.
It is marvelous in our eyes. Is Christ not marvelous to you? Is what He's done for you and
for me, sinner, is it not marvelous what He's done for us? Does it
not thrill your heart? Oh my. And marvelous things are
spoken of our great God, aren't they? This is the day which the
Lord hath made. We will rejoice and be glad in
it. Why? Because of the marvelous things
which the Lord hath done for us. Oh my, think of that. I need
to think about this when troubled times come up. Or as Brother
Matt bought out, when I start fretting. Oh, I need to just
remember. And I'll tell you, I got some
fretting this week. I mentioned it in Sunday School. But what
got me out of that fretting was looking back. and all the things
the Lord had brought me through. It's incredible. And Sister Barb,
we were talking about that too. It's just so amazing. You just
look to what He's done, and we have such comfort, and such hope,
and such peace. Oh, our God is great. Our God
is so great. So notice in our text, back to
our text, notice how Peter brings the cornerstone to the forefront.
Because in verse 11 he had mentioned the cornerstone. So he brings
the cornerstone to the forefront. He says, this is the stone which
was set at Nod of you builders, which has become the head of
the corner. He brings the cornerstone to the forefront. And he brings
the fact before them that salvation is found in no other, no other,
in that Christ Christ is the head of the church, and Christ
has all power and all authority, and therefore there's no other
name given among men whereby we must be saved. There's no
other name. And salvation, folks don't like
this, but salvation's in Christ alone, period. If you add anything to Christ,
it's not grace. You're either saved by the pure,
free, and sovereign grace of God and Christ, or you're not
saved at all. It's deadly to add anything to
grace. And it's exclusively in Christ. Salvation is exclusively
in Christ. Therefore, people who think that
salvation is in something they do, they're perishing their sins.
They're perishing their sins. who worship other gods will perish
in their sins, or other supposed gods, gods of their imagination,
will perish in their sins. Because they do not believe in
the one whose salvation is in alone, the Lord Jesus Christ,
God incarnate in the flesh. Vicki and I were having breakfast
at a local restaurant this week and overheard a young couple
speaking of what happens when you die. And it was easy just
to hear the new age influence. The guy thinks he's coming back
as a bird. I said, how could you be so stupid? But it's appointed on the men once
to die. And after this, the judgment. Once to die and then to face
God. See, but man will cook up all
kinds of things, and I used to do the same thing. I'm not mocking
that young man, because I was the same way. I had the most
unintelligent thoughts about God before I believed in him. I had him all cooked up to what
I thought he was, and he was not what I thought he was. My
goodness, and I'm just thankful he revealed himself to me. Aren't
you? Let you know the One whose salvation
is in His name. So people's conception of God,
people's conception of God and who they make Him out to be in
their own minds is a false conception. And the only place we can find
out who God is, is in this book, eh? In this book. God reveals Himself to us in
this book, in the Bible. And He must reveal Himself to
us. And when he does, oh, when God reveals himself to us, we
see him for who he is. Don't we? And he isn't what we
thought he was. Oh, he's almighty. He's sovereign. He's a king of kings. And he's
a lord of lords. He's a mighty warrior. He's a
captain of the Lord's house. He's Jehovah Jireh, my provider. He's the Lord, my righteousness. He's everything I need. Oh my. Neither is there salvation in
any other, for there's none other name under heaven given among
men whereby we must be saved. Turn, if you would, again over
to Acts chapter 3. And let's look at A portion of
that Scripture again. And as the lame man which was
healed, verse 11, held Peter and John. He's hanging on to
the two of them. All the people ran together unto
them in the porch that is called Solomon's, greatly wondering.
They were in awe of what had happened. And when Peter saw
it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel
ye at this? Or why look ye so earnestly on
us, as though by our own power or holiness? Now look at that.
He just destroyed works-based religion, didn't he? We had made
this man to walk. You got the whole holiness movement
out there that think that they're not sinners. Well, they're just
deceiving themselves. The God of Abraham and of Isaac
and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified His Son
whom He delivered up and denied Him in the presence of Pilate
when He was determined to let Him go. But ye denied the Holy
One, and the just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto
you, and killed the Prince of Life, whom God hath raised from
the dead, whereof we are witnesses. And his name, through faith in
his name, hath made this man strong, whom ye see, and know,
yea, the faith which is by him hath given him this perfect soundness
in the presence of you all. And now, brethren, I want that
that through ignorance ye did it, as did also your rulers. But those things which God before
hath shewed by the mouth of all his prophets, that Christ should
suffer, so hath been fulfilled. Repent ye therefore, and be converted,
that your sins may be blotted out. when the times of refreshing
shall come from the presence of the Lord, and He shall send
Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you, whom the heaven
must receive until the times of restitution of all things
which God hath spoken by the mouth of His holy prophets since
the world began. For Moses truly said unto the
fathers, A prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you
of your brethren, like unto me. Him shall you hear Him shall
ye hear in all things whatsoever he shall say unto you, and it
shall come to pass that every soul which will not hear that
prophet shall be destroyed from among the people." Oh, there's
only salvation in Christ. There's only protection from
the wrath and justice of God in Christ and Him alone. My. And Peter boldly proclaims that
there's salvation in no other except the Lord Jesus Christ.
So let's consider a few things. There's no Savior, is there,
but Christ. This text boldly proclaims that
there's no Savior but the Lord Jesus Christ. We must look to
Christ in Him alone. Turn, if you would, to Isaiah
45. Isaiah 45. Think of this, too. When we're looking to someone
else, right? What are we doing? We're looking away from ourselves. When we look to someone else,
we look away from ourselves. We look away from ourselves.
Look at Isaiah 45, verse 21 and 22. And beloved, we are not to look
to ourselves for our salvation, right? But we look to the One
who can save us from our sins. And we pray that God would give
spiritual eyes to those who have not looked to Him. Look at Isaiah 45, verses 21
and 22. Tell ye and bring them near,
yea, let them take counsel together. Who hath declared this from ancient
time? Who hath told it from that time?
Have not I the Lord? and there is no God else beside
me, a just God and a Savior, there is none beside me. Look
unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth. For I
am God, and there is none else. And then our text again says,
neither is there salvation in any other. This is speaking of
Christ in Isaiah, beloved. Neither is there salvation in
any other, for there is none other name under heaven given
among men, whereby we must be saved. Oh my, turn if you would over
to Zephaniah 3, verses 16 and 17. We are not to look to ourselves,
we look to Christ. Zephaniah 3, verses 16 and 17. And keep in mind our text while
we look at these verses. There's salvation in no other
but the Lord Jesus Christ. Zephaniah 3, 16 and 17. In that
day it shall be said to Jerusalem, fear thou not, and to Zion, let
not thine hands be slack. The Lord thy God in the midst
of thee is mighty. He will save, He will rejoice
over thee with joy. He will rest in His love. He will joy over thee with singing. Oh my. God is in the midst of
His people. And He will save, as Zephaniah
3.17 says. He will rejoice over thee with
joy. He rejoices over sinners who
have been saved by the Lord Jesus Christ. He will rest in His love,
and His love is an everlasting love. He will joy over thee with
singing. Oh, so in light of our text,
I ask you to examine yourself and ask the question, what is
your hope right now? What is your hope right now?
Not what you've done in the past. Who's your hope right now? If our appointment came tonight,
in whom are we resting? Ourselves? Or Christ? Oh my. Because I'm telling you,
if you're not resting in Christ, you're either resting in yourself
or someone else. Oh, the believer. Christ is all
my salvation. He's all my hope. Is He yours?
He's all my hope. When I stand before my holy and
just God and judge on the great day, my hope in that hour, by
the grace of God, will be exactly what my hope is right now. To be found in Him. Not heaven mine own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. Lost, guilty
sinners are saved by the free grace of God through faith in
the Lord Jesus Christ. And this faith, true saving faith,
brings sinners to renounce all confidence in themselves. and to look to Christ for all
of our needs, for now and for eternity. He's not just our hope now. He's
our hope in eternity. My, oh my. In this simple faith,
looks from guilt to Christ's innocence, looks from our disobedience
to Christ's perfect obedience. This faith looks from our unrighteousness
to Christ's perfect righteousness. And this faith looks from our
death to Christ's resurrected life, from our weakness to Christ's
strength, from our shame, to eternal glory, which is found
only in Christ and Him alone. And this faith trusts in Christ
and Him alone. And it is a gift of God, not
of works, lest any man should boast. And the object of our
faith is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only Savior. He is
the only Savior of our soul. And saving faith lays hold of
Christ, doesn't it? Lays hold of Christ, who is not
only the sinner's Savior, but is Himself the sinner's salvation. Look at our text. Neither is
there salvation in any other. He's my salvation. Is He yours? He's our salvation. For there's
none other name under heaven given among men whereby we must
be saved. So there's no other Savior but
the Lord Jesus Christ. There's no other sacrifice and
no other substitute for our sins. I ask you, can you pay for one of your sins?
Just one? I can't. There's no other sacrifice. There's no other substitute for
me. I'm in desperate need. I must have someone pay for my
sins. And you can't pay for my sins
because you can't pay for your own. And I can't pay for your
sins because I can't pay for my own. Oh, I need a perfect
sacrifice. I need a substitute. And praise
God. Turn, if you would, to Job 33,
24. Praise God. We who believe can say, oh, I
found the ransom. I found the ransom. I found a ransom. And put your
finger in 1 John, actually, too. 1 John 2. So, Job 33 and 1 John. Oh, praise God, I found a ransom,
the great substitute for sinners, the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at Job 33, 24. Then He is
gracious unto him and said, Deliver him from going down to the pit.
I found a ransom. Have you found a ransom? It's
only in Christ. Oh, I pray He reveals Himself
to you. The believer in Christ proclaims,
I found a ransom. The perfect substitute. The perfect
sacrifice. And look it over in 1 John 2,
verses 1 and 2. There's only one sacrifice that's
acceptable to God, beloved. Only one. And that's the Lord
Jesus Christ and Him alone. He's the perfect, spotless Lamb
of God. And He gave Himself for the sins
of His people. He who knew no sin gives Himself
for sinners. And it's my sin that caused Him
to go to Calvary Street. Oh my, what a Savior. What a
Redeemer. What a king! My little children,
verses 1 and 2, My little children, these things write I unto you,
that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an
advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, the One
in whose name there is salvation, and He is the propitiation for
our sins. Oh, He turns away the wrath of
God, and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole
world. Note the text in 1 John says He's the propitiation for
our sins, for my sins. Oh, I found a ransom and He's
a propitiation for my sins. Oh, what wonderful news. And He's the only one, as I said,
who can turn away the wrath of God. The only one. He's the only substitute. Christ
hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse
for us. For it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a
tree. Every sinner for whom Christ died, turn if you would to Romans
chapter 8. Every sinner for whom Christ
died has been absolutely and forever freed from the curse
of the law. And will never come into condemnation. Never. This is good news for sinners,
beloved. Romans 8, verses 1-3. There is therefore now... Now, we as sinners condemn ourselves
all the time, don't we? But those who believe are clothed
in the righteousness of Christ. Christ is a propitiation for
my sins. My sins. And if you believe for
your sins, and look what the Scriptures declare, this is marvelous
news for sinners. There is therefore now no condemnation. No condemnation. Oh, this is wonderful news. For
them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of
life in Christ hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
For what the law could not do, and that it was weak through
the flesh, God, sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful
flesh, enforced sin, condemned sin in the flesh. There is therefore
now no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus. None. If you're trusting in Christ,
no charge can be bought against you. in the court of God's law
and justice? That's marvelous. Because we
know we're guilty, don't we? We know we're deserving of the
condemnation of God. But this scripture here before
us boldly proclaims, there is therefore now no condemnation
to those who are in Christ Jesus. I want to live there. Oh my. That's wonderful. Ponder this. You who have been redeemed by
the precious blood of Christ, there is no possibility of even
one sin being charged upon one for whom Christ died. Because Christ paid it all. Now,
that doesn't give us a license to go crazy. But think of that. My, this is a perfect salvation,
beloved, by a perfect substitute who is a perfect sacrifice. who's given us, who believe,
His perfect righteousness. So as a result of that, there
is therefore now no condemnation to those in Christ Jesus. Neither is there salvation in
any other. Only in Christ. Only in Christ. There's no other
surety for us either. No one else to guarantee all
the terms of the everlasting covenant. There's no other servant
who's perfectly obeyed God's law and justice but Christ. He
honored and established righteousness in our place. There's no other
shepherd to lead the sheep but the Lord Jesus Christ. No other foundation for the believer
than Christ. Weary sinners can find safety,
salvation, and secure refuge in Christ and Him alone. We find
no refuge in ourselves. We find no refuge in our works. But we find rest for our weary
souls in Christ and Him alone. Oh my. Turn, if you would, to
1 Corinthians chapter 3. 1 Corinthians. Now, folks trust
in all kinds of things rather than Christ. They trust in themselves. They trust that they're not really
as bad as Scripture declares them to be. They trust that they're not as
bad as the neighbor down the street. They trust that God will
give them a free pass into heaven based upon their works. Now,
think of this. Here's something for you to ponder. If we could save ourselves, then
why did Christ leave glory? And you who do not know Christ,
if you can save yourself, when the scriptures say you can't, then you have no hope. But we who believe, we have a
hope, and it's not based upon what we've done. based upon Christ
and what He's done. And I thank God that Christ left
glory, because I'm a sinner and I need to be saved, and praise
God He saved me. Look at this in 1 Corinthians
3. Christ came to save sinners. He's the one sure foundation
which sinners can trust their eternal souls upon. 1 Corinthians 3, verses 6 to 11. I have planted. Apollo's watered,
but look at this, but God gave the increase. Don't look to the
preacher. We're just mouthpieces proclaiming
what God's done for us. God gives the increase. I love
you all. I've been here a year now. I feel knit to all of you. I
love you dearly, but look to Christ. Look to the Savior I'm
preaching. He's the one. Oh, He's the one. He's the only
one who can save us. And God must give the increase.
God gives the increase. He adds to the church as He's
pleased. He reveals Himself as He's pleased. So then neither is He that planteth
anything. Look at that. Neither He that
watereth. We're nothing. We're just mouthpieces
for God. We're sinners telling other sinners
where to find bread. but God that giveth the increase.
Now he that planteth and he that watereth are one. We have the
same message. And every man shall receive his
own reward according to his own labor. For we are laborers together
with God. Ye are God's husbandry. Ye are God's building according
to the grace of God which is given unto me as a wise master
builder. I have laid the foundation. Now
when we're preaching the gospel, we're laying the foundation,
aren't we? Christ. You must look to Him. God gives
the increase, too. And as we walk in this world
as believers, we grow in the grace and knowledge and truth
of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it's God who gives the increase.
Give Him all the glory. It's not the preacher. It's God. God's using the preacher to teach
you things of the Word and things, and that's marvelous. I'll tell
you, every preacher gets up in the pulpit, and we're just proclaiming
things that God showed us that week. I love it, it's incredible. But God must give you the increase.
God must. The preachers, as I said, we're
proclaiming this wonderful truth. According to the grace of God
which is given unto me as a wise master builder, I've laid the
foundation, and what? And another buildeth thereon.
But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereon. For other
foundation can no man lay, than that which is laid, which is
Jesus Christ. He's the foundation. He's the
cornerstone. So there's no other sure foundation
than Christ. And there's no other seed of
the woman but the Lord Jesus Christ. It was prophesied of
Him to bruise the serpent's head and crush the dominion of evil.
And He's done it. He's the perfect spotless Lamb
of God. And think of this, there's no
other satisfaction before the courts of God's holy law and
justice. His justice is inflexible, isn't
it? No other satisfaction for his
law but the Lord Jesus Christ. He shall see the travail of his
soul and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities. There's no other authority to
give eternal life than the Lord Jesus Christ. Do you know that?
He has all power. Turn, if you would, to John 17.
Now, people falsely believe that priests have power to give eternal
life, but the Scriptures declare that only one has power to give.
People falsely declare that if you pray this prayer, oh, now
you have eternal life. Well, that's decisional regeneration.
There's only one who can give eternal life, and the Scriptures
declare that He's the only one who has the power to give eternal
life. And He gives it to those whom He has redeemed upon Calvary's
cross. And in our text in Acts, I'll
read Acts 4 again, verse 12, before we look at this in John
17, neither is there salvation in any other, for there's none
other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be
saved. Christ is the only one who's
been given authority and power over all flesh to save his people
from their sins. He's the only one who has freely
given himself to be the sacrifice for the sins of his people. And
he is freely preached among men. He's preached, isn't he? He's
proclaimed. There goes the general call.
Out it goes. Oh, and He's the only Savior
of His people. For there's no one else who can
save us from our sins but the Lord Jesus Christ. Look at John
17, verses 1 to 3. This is the Master speaking.
This is the high priestly prayer of our Savior. These words spake
Jesus and lifted up His eyes to heaven and said, Father, the
hour has come. Glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son
also may glorify Thee, as Thou has given, who? as thou hast
given him. Christ has all power. Power over
what? All flesh. That means everyone
who's ever lived. And he should what? Give eternal
life to as many as thou hast given him. Now some folks will
pop off and say, well, that's not fair that he gives eternal
life to whomever he's pleased. Well, the alternative is this.
If there's no election, everyone's going to hell. I thank God that he had mercy
on me. And God can do whatever he's pleased,
can't he? And think of this, just the fact
that he gives eternal life to people who hate him by nature,
to people who shake their fists at him, what mercy. And people get all hung up on
that. God can be God. He can do whatever He's pleased.
And look at this, and it says, And this is life eternal, that
they might know Thee, the only true God, in Jesus Christ, whom
Thou hast sent. Salvation's only in Christ, in
Him alone. He has all power. All power. How shall we escape? Here's a
question from scripture. How shall we escape if we neglect
so great salvation? How are you going to escape if
you neglect Christ? Now, folks get all hung up about
being the elect or not being the elect. Let me tell you this.
All who flee to Christ shall be saved. And the question comes to you. How? How? How shall we escape if we neglect
so great salvation? which at the first began to be
spoken by the Lord and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him.
How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation? And this
salvation is only in Christ and Him alone. And God's people say
glory to God for the wonder of salvation in and through the
Lord Jesus Christ. We say glory to God for Christ's
perfect righteousness which we who believe are clothed in. We
say glory to God for his sin-atoning sacrifice, the Lord Jesus Christ,
who died in our ruined place. We say glory to God for his sovereign
dominion, that he's in absolute control. And we say glory to
God for Christ's heavenly intercession for us right now as our advocate. And we say glory to God for his
preserving love in and through Christ to his people. We are
receivers of mercy, receivers of mercy. And we say all glory
and honor and praise to our great God, for neither is there salvation
in any other. For there's none other name under
heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. And His name
is the Lord Jesus Christ. May God give you faith to believe
on Him. Heavenly Father, we come before
Thy throne. Oh, so grateful for Your mercy. So grateful for when we who believe
were in the pit the pit of our sin, You came and sought us out. Oh, that the precious blood of
Christ redeemed us from our sins on Calvary's cross. And that
You had us look to Thee, look to You, Lord Jesus. We love You. May we give You all the praise
for Your goodness and mercy to us. Undeserving as we are, we
just fall at Thy feet in wonder and awe. In Jesus' name, Amen.